SEGRELLES - ART HINT 2

THE FEMALE NUDE
Fascination for nudity has been a constant in art. However, it is a complex topic for the usual trouble to add volume and color to a drawing is now increased by anatomy and colour consistency.

Human figure can be drawn well without a model. It's a question of knowing anatomy and body proportions and, above all, deduction. For the ones who are just starting, I assure you that deduction is of the essence to be a good artist. It will be a great tool not only to deal with figure but also perspective, lights and colour. A few memorized human positions do not help at all but will for sure restrict your creativity. I use the classic canon of eight heads. This is a very common canon, already used by Praxiteles, Dürer and Leonardo, for example.

In what respects to head, I use the canon of three parts and a half as follows: half part from skull (1) to hairline (2), then one part up to eyebrows (3), nose (4) and chin (5).

Often, a whitish earthy colour appears in the paintings of some amateurs. This dusty aspect occurs when adding white to light up a dark brownish flesh colour. You can avoid this problem by using cadmium orange colour as a base. Just make lighter with white or darken with black, with additional hues to enrich, and colours will look clean and consistent.

Publicists use the attraction exercised by nudes to catch the attention of possible customers. Illustrators and book-cover creators also know that a suggestive nude can help selling a book. However, sometimes you are not allowed to use so and other times it may not be wise or useful.